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 The Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary is situated on the confluence
of Matla and Gumdi within the buffer zone that extends over
an area of 885 sq km. Here you can have a look at the wide
variety of birds, the most popular among them being the
spotted billed pelican, cotton teal, herring gull, Caspian
tern, grey heron, large egret, night heron, open-billed
stork, white ibis, common kingfisher, brahmini kite and
paradise flycatcher. A rare winter migrant, Asian dowitcher
(Limnodromus semipalmatus), can also be found here.
Among the birds of prey are osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Pallas's fish eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus), white-bellied
sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), grey-headed fishing
eagle (Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus), peregrine falcon (Falco
peregrinus), Oriental hobby (Falco severus), northern eagle
owl (Bubo bubo) and brown fish owl (Ketupa zeylonensis).
Flora & Fauna
The reserve comprises a core zone, afforestation zone and
restoration zone and an agri-operation zone. The core zone
of 1,300 sq. km represents the National Park and the rest of
the area is used for the forestry operations. The variety of
the forests that exist in Sunderban include mangrove scrub,
littoral forest, saltwater mixed forest, brackish water
mixed forest and swamp forest.
The flora includes genwa, dhundal, passur, garjan and kankra.
The goran trees, whose average height varies between 1.8
metres and 3.6 metres, cover almost the entire region.
 The tigers form the major source of attraction in the
reserve here. The 1980 census put the population of tiger in
this reserve close to 400. Besides the tiger, you can have a
look at the Gangetic dolphin, little porpoise, fishing cat,
Indian fox, jungle cat, small Indian civet, common grey
mongoose, spotted deer, wild pig, Indian flying fox, rhesus
monkey and pangolin.
Sunderban is also the breeding ground of a large variety of
birds. Out here, you get to see heron, egret, cormorant,
fishing eagle, white-bellied sea eagle, seagull, tern and
kingfisher. The migratory birds like whimprel, black-tailed
godwit, little stint, eastern knot, curlew, sandpiper,
golden plover, pintail, white-eyed pochard and whistling
teal also flock this place. The place is also home to the
wide variety of aquatic and reptile life forms that include
Olive Ridley sea turtle, hardshelled batgur terrapin,
pythons, king cobra, chequered killback, monitor and lizards |
